Chapter 1 My saber-toothed cat, Sabra, lay on the bed beside me. Her tail twitched as she stared out the floor-to-ceiling window, her fur gilded by the morning sunlight. A bird flew past in a blur and she leaped off of the bed and dashed toward the window, then lay flat on…

A glimpse of shifting obsidian gleams below and then my stomach dropped as the invisible skyrider beneath me swung into a sheer vertical position — but no, that couldn’t be right, because above were the stars, and my adjusting eyes could make out a horizontal horizon with the faintest sheen…

“Vy…” I said weakly. She looked down at me and smiled, her eyes benevolent. “It’s okay, I’m here.” Her hair streaked behind her like dark lightning. “Don’t worry, I’m going to make us invisible, okay? Just till we get somewhere safe.” I nodded. Beneath the numbness the lightning had burned…

The hexagon was packed. The demonstration from my first day here paled in comparison. People jammed together from one end to the other, a colorful array jostling in the sunlight. Some of them held handmade signs. …

We landed on Dusk’s roof and got out, each bearing identical precious cargo in our coms. Yarrow was already waiting for us, his arms folded, metal arm glinting in the sun. “You can end the pretense, you know,” said Yarrow, looking at me. My heart dropped. “What — do you…

I awoke in the darkness to aches, violent echoes of nightmares drumming through my mind. The worst pain was in my head, and I wondered where it was from, then remembered cracking it hard against the floor. …

Figures floated down, black against the deep purple sky. I cringed back from them, but then I realized they were achingly familiar. Violet! And Blade! Vy swept toward me and wrapped me in a gentle embrace. She kissed my cheek, her soft hair blowing against my face and neck. Blade…

I jumped to my feet. “Let him go! Do whatever you want to me but let him go!” Zane wiped his knife on Sol’s shirt. “That would defeat the purpose.” Sol pressed his hand to his cheek. Blood seeped through his fingers, his face wracked with pain. “Sol…” said Sym…

The sun, sinking past the silhouetted buildings, shimmered in the haze of Desolation. I felt a little better, out in the air, but something trembled inside me. I’d seen three people die today. I’d only seen death in holos before, and that mostly fake. …